Tentative city budget includes layoffs, no raises

Published: Wednesday, July 9, 2014 at 9:31 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 9, 2014 at 9:31 p.m.

The Gainesville City Commission spent several hours going over the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year Wednesday, citing potential layoffs and the lack of employee raises as particular concerns.

When city staff first presented the tentative budget for fiscal year 2014-15 in late June, the plan held the property tax rate to the current fiscal year’s level of 4.578 mills, although they expected to return with a proposal for a small rate reduction.

City Manager Russ Blackburn said Wednesday the new recommendation is to reduce the property tax rate to 4.5079 mills, where one mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable property value.

This change, which amounts to a difference of around $400,000, would allow the city to maintain the same level of revenue as this fiscal year.

No raises are budgeted for the upcoming fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, although 2 percent raises are planned for fiscal year 2016, Blackburn said.

Commissioner Yvonne Hinson-Rawls told Blackburn she was going to suggest the city offer raises to non-management personnel for both fiscal years.

“Management doesn’t exactly need a raise since they’re already at six figures for the most part, but people in lower-paid positions desperately need that raise,” she said.

The $106.17 million general government budget proposed for fiscal year 2015 slashes nearly $1 million from the current fiscal year’s approved budget totaling $107.1 million.

To have a balanced budget, the city has to cover a tentative deficit of about $2.6 million, Blackburn told The Sun.

The proposal would eliminate 22.5 full-time equivalent positions, about half of which are vacant.

Eleven employees, including the city’s nine custodial workers, face layoffs if they can’t find other jobs within the city government, although Blackburn said the city has already committed to keeping on in some capacity one member of the custodial staff who is close to reaching full retirement eligibility.

The nine custodial workers’ positions are slated for elimination so the city can outsource that janitorial work for an estimated $50,000 savings next year, but multiple commissioners were frank about their problems with making those particular cuts.

Commissioner Craig Carter said he would have a tough time looking these nine families in the face and Hinson-Rawls also expressed her concern about cutting those jobs.

Hinson-Rawls asked Blackburn, who had said the city is committed to doing everything it can to place these people in other roles, if the city has enough positions into which the custodial workers could be moved.

Blackburn said he thought they could find alternatives within the city for some but not all of those nine workers.

Commissioner Todd Chase made a motion early on in Wednesday’s budget presentation to remove janitorial services from consideration for outsourcing for the fiscal year 2015 budget, effectively preserving those workers’ jobs, although the board didn’t approve it.

Mayor Ed Braddy and Commissioner Lauren Poe said they felt his motion was premature since they hadn’t gotten all the information on the budget yet.

Braddy also spoke in favor of outsourcing. If they can receive a higher-quality service at a lower cost and integrate the affected employees, he questioned who in their right mind would be opposed to that.

Later on in Wednesday’s meeting, the mayor said commissioners’ purpose is not simply to employ people, it’s also to provide services. Whenever the city government can provide higher-quality services at a reduced cost to the people it serves, “that’s our purpose,” Braddy said.

However, Braddy did say they should do all they can to ensure the city’s employees are treated fairly.

Braddy also pointed out the City Commission did not specifically direct staff to bring the board a budget with no layoffs.

“No one wants to get laid off and no one wants to be the one who lays off someone,” he said. “But we have created the web that prevents easy lateral moves.”

In explaining why he made his motion regarding janitorial services so early on, Chase said he jumped on the opportunity to express his outrage that outsourcing janitorial was even included in the budget.

He said he was prepared to say “stop worrying” to the custodial workers facing layoffs in making the motion to preserve their positions.

Later Wednesday afternoon, Chase also said he has the perception the city could have some morale problems within its workforce, which worries him.

<p>The Gainesville City Commission spent several hours going over the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year Wednesday, citing potential layoffs and the lack of employee raises as particular concerns.</p><p>When city staff first presented the tentative budget for fiscal year 2014-15 in late June, the plan held the property tax rate to the current fiscal year's level of 4.578 mills, although they expected to return with a proposal for a small rate reduction.</p><p>City Manager Russ Blackburn said Wednesday the new recommendation is to reduce the property tax rate to 4.5079 mills, where one mill equals $1 of tax for every $1,000 of taxable property value.</p><p>This change, which amounts to a difference of around $400,000, would allow the city to maintain the same level of revenue as this fiscal year.</p><p>No raises are budgeted for the upcoming fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, although 2 percent raises are planned for fiscal year 2016, Blackburn said.</p><p>Commissioner Yvonne Hinson-Rawls told Blackburn she was going to suggest the city offer raises to non-management personnel for both fiscal years.</p><p>“Management doesn't exactly need a raise since they're already at six figures for the most part, but people in lower-paid positions desperately need that raise,” she said.</p><p>The $106.17 million general government budget proposed for fiscal year 2015 slashes nearly $1 million from the current fiscal year's approved budget totaling $107.1 million.</p><p>To have a balanced budget, the city has to cover a tentative deficit of about $2.6 million, Blackburn told The Sun.</p><p>The proposal would eliminate 22.5 full-time equivalent positions, about half of which are vacant.</p><p>Eleven employees, including the city's nine custodial workers, face layoffs if they can't find other jobs within the city government, although Blackburn said the city has already committed to keeping on in some capacity one member of the custodial staff who is close to reaching full retirement eligibility.</p><p>The nine custodial workers' positions are slated for elimination so the city can outsource that janitorial work for an estimated $50,000 savings next year, but multiple commissioners were frank about their problems with making those particular cuts.</p><p>Commissioner Craig Carter said he would have a tough time looking these nine families in the face and Hinson-Rawls also expressed her concern about cutting those jobs.</p><p>Hinson-Rawls asked Blackburn, who had said the city is committed to doing everything it can to place these people in other roles, if the city has enough positions into which the custodial workers could be moved.</p><p>Blackburn said he thought they could find alternatives within the city for some but not all of those nine workers.</p><p>Commissioner Todd Chase made a motion early on in Wednesday's budget presentation to remove janitorial services from consideration for outsourcing for the fiscal year 2015 budget, effectively preserving those workers' jobs, although the board didn't approve it.</p><p>Mayor Ed Braddy and Commissioner Lauren Poe said they felt his motion was premature since they hadn't gotten all the information on the budget yet.</p><p>Braddy also spoke in favor of outsourcing. If they can receive a higher-quality service at a lower cost and integrate the affected employees, he questioned who in their right mind would be opposed to that.</p><p>Later on in Wednesday's meeting, the mayor said commissioners' purpose is not simply to employ people, it's also to provide services. Whenever the city government can provide higher-quality services at a reduced cost to the people it serves, “that's our purpose,” Braddy said.</p><p>However, Braddy did say they should do all they can to ensure the city's employees are treated fairly.</p><p>Braddy also pointed out the City Commission did not specifically direct staff to bring the board a budget with no layoffs.</p><p>“No one wants to get laid off and no one wants to be the one who lays off someone,” he said. “But we have created the web that prevents easy lateral moves.”</p><p>In explaining why he made his motion regarding janitorial services so early on, Chase said he jumped on the opportunity to express his outrage that outsourcing janitorial was even included in the budget.</p><p>He said he was prepared to say “stop worrying” to the custodial workers facing layoffs in making the motion to preserve their positions.</p><p>Later Wednesday afternoon, Chase also said he has the perception the city could have some morale problems within its workforce, which worries him.</p><p><i>Contact Morgan Watkins at 338-3104 or morgan.watkins@gainesville.com.</i></p>